‘The English press go after him’ – Solskjaer strongly defends under-fire Mason Greenwood | OneFootball

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has blasted the media’s treatment of Mason Greenwood and has refuted suggestions the club have warned the youngster about his discipline.

Greenwood has come under criticism in recent weeks with speculation surfacing that United had warned the player over several breaches of discipline including lateness, following on from the teenager’s England expulsion for breaking coronavirus protocols during the trip to Iceland.

The 19-year-old has been left out of the squad for the Red Devils’ victories over Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain over the past week with Solskjaer insisting the player has a slight injury, and the Norwegian has given his backing to his ‘exciting’ prospect.

“We have a great record and tradition of bringing our players through,” the Man Utd boss said at his pre-match press conference. “That means from early on you get good habits, you express yourselves, Mason’s come through this programme, done fantastic and will be kicking on I’m sure, he’s a very exciting boy to work with.”

Solskjaer believes that Greenwood’s success has made him a target for criticism within the English media after bursting onto the scene last season, becoming the first player in more than two decades – and just third in history – to score 10+ league goals in a season aged 18 or under.

Solskjaer also refuted suggestions questioning Greenwood’s attitude and professionalism, criticising the speculation surrounding the teenager and backing the forward to bounce back in the coming weeks.

“You do [make a target for yourself] when you play well, and I’m not concerned at all with Mason making a target for himself. He came in, played fantastic, he made his first start against Tottenham last season, was brilliant, kicked on.

“He made a mistake for England and suddenly the English press go after him.

“I have to disappoint you… he’s never ever late for training. I’ve seen some ex United players talking about him and they don’t know what they’re talking about and they can see every day. I don’t know where these stories have come from.

“He’s got a good family behind him, academy and he’s a good trainer and I cannot believe all these stories about him not being professional, that’s something we have to deal with many players, many other players at United have had that.”

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